Virginia school named in honor of Revolutionary War hero announces name change

A college in Virginia previously named after a Revolutionary War hero has announced another name change.

Virginia Peninsula Community College, a public community college previously named the Thomas Nelson Community College, which has a campus in Hampton, will be renaming two of its halls to honor a Native American tribe that lived in the Hampton area.

The Griffin and Wythe halls of the campus, which are connected and essentially function as one building, will be renamed Kecoughtan Hall, in honor of the Kecoughtan tribe, which are native to the land where the school is located.

"We will be working to change over the signage and other references to Griffin/Wythe during the spring 2024 semester. It will be a gradual process," said Steven Felker, the vice president for institutional effectiveness and transformation.

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The Griffin and Wythe halls of the campus are both connected and essentially function as one building. They will now be renamed Kecoughtan Hall. (Virginia Peninsula Community College)

According to the school, the College Board determined the name was more inclusive as it acknowledged the history of the Native Americans who existed on the peninsula before European settlers.

The merging of the two halls into a single name was also intentional to help students.

"Also, taskforce members felt it would be easier to direct students to a single building that houses most of the college’s support services rather than having to use two distinct names they would need to remember," Felker said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Virginia Peninsula Community College for additional information, but a response was not immediately received.

The name change comes just a year after the school officially rebranded to remove its original namesake, a process initiated years earlier.

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Thomas Nelson Community College officially rebranded to the Virginia Peninsula Community College on July 1, 2022. (Virginia Peninsula Community College)

In 2020, the Virginia State Board for Community Colleges asked college advisory boards to review the appropriateness of the names of their colleges, campuses and facilities amid a heightened sensitivity to controversial symbols included in national sports, schools and other major facilities.

Thomas Nelson, the fourth governor of Virginia, a Revolutionary War hero, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was the school’s original namesake, but school officials decided to change the name as he was also a slave owner.

The College and Facilities Naming Taskforce determined a change to the college’s name was appropriate and on July 1, 2022, Thomas Nelson Community College officially rebranded to the Virginia Peninsula Community College.

During the renaming process, the board considered and even suggested changing the names of the Griffin and Wythe halls, which were named after contemporaries of Nelson, but ultimately did not do so.

Other buildings at VPCC could be named in honor of regional tribes such as the Powhatan, Paspahegh and the Chickahominy. (Kean Collection/Getty Images)

VPCC said it would consider no longer naming buildings after people but would use any future changes to relate to the region’s geography and history.

According to VPCC, three buildings on the Hampton campus – the Moore, Diggs and Harrison halls, which were also named after Nelson’s contemporaries – are scheduled to be removed and replaced with the construction of a new building.

VPCC said additional changes to the school could make references to the Powhatan, Paspahegh or Chickahominy, which are all local historical tribes.